Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Has $796,000 Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 2,258.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,753 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,873 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $796,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SLB. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Schlumberger in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in Schlumberger during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 468.9% during the 4th quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,024 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 844 shares in the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and issued a $44.00 target price (down from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Griffin Securities cut Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.81.

Insider Buying and Selling at Schlumberger

In other Schlumberger news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.44, for a total value of $2,486,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 210,502 shares in the company, valued at $8,723,202.88. This trade represents a 22.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.94, for a total value of $1,098,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,179,204.30. This represents a 33.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 290,772 shares of company stock valued at $12,546,660 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Stock Up 1.8 %

SLB stock opened at $41.73 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Schlumberger Limited has a twelve month low of $36.52 and a twelve month high of $55.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.74 billion, a PE ratio of 13.42, a PEG ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.47.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.24 billion. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 21.90%. Schlumberger’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.86 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be paid a $0.285 dividend. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is 36.66%.

Schlumberger Company Profile

Schlumberger Limited engages in the provision of technology for the energy industry worldwide. The company operates through four divisions: Digital & Integration, Reservoir Performance, Well Construction, and Production Systems. The company provides field development and hydrocarbon production, carbon management, and integration of adjacent energy systems; reservoir interpretation and data processing services for exploration data; and well construction and production improvement services and products.